This invention relates to load carrying baskets for bicycles and the like, and more particularly, to the mounting structure for a load carrying basket secured to the front of "high rise" bicycle handle bars.
There have traditionally been many different ways to secure baskets that mount on the front of bicycles and the like. One type of structure as sold commercially by the assignee of the present invention uses two clamps attached to the top frame of the basket which are secured to the horizontal or branch portions of the handle bar on each side of the handle bar stem of the bicycle. Additionally, two supporting legs are provided which have an upper end attached to the bottom of the basket and an opposite lower end attached to the front wheel axle of the bicycle.
A second type of structure for mounting baskets on the front of a bicycle is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,758 issued to McMurtrey and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This mounting structure is characterized by two permanently affixed hooks attached either to the basket itself or to the basket's mounting hardware at a top frame of the basket. The basket is attached to the bicycle by lowering each of these two hooks onto the generally horizontal branch portions of the handle bar extending from each side of the handle bar stem. Once lowered into position, the back side of the basket and an arcuate hardware mounting section rest against the bicycle head tube. The bicycle basket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,758 is not intended to be fixed to the bicycle and can be selectively detached and re-attached to the bicycle as required.
A third group of bicycle baskets which attach to the front of "high rise" handle bars is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,613,970 and 4,269,336 each issued to Humlong and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The baskets disclosed in each of these patents use four clamps to attach the basket to the front of the handle bar. Two of the clamps attach the top frame of the basket to the vertical portions or risers of the handle bar. The remaining two clamps attach the back side of the basket to the horizontal or branch portions of the handle bar on opposite sides of the handle bar stem.
The first group of baskets described hereinabove are supported by legs attached to the bottom of the basket and the front bicycle wheel axle requires a relatively significant amount of hardware and tools for attachment to the bicycle and cannot be easily detached and re-attached with a minimum amount of effort and time. Similarly, the baskets identified hereinabove in the second group require additional hardware and those in the third group require both additional hardware and effort for attachment to the bicycle. More importantly, these second and third group baskets do not provide support for the bottom of the basket and its contents. In some cases, relatively heavy or fragile items may be carried in the basket which require additional support from the bottom of the basket, which additional support is not available in the second and third group of baskets described previously.
An additional concern not as yet addressed in prior art baskets is the damage of the basket and mounting hardware during shipping and handling prior to attachment to the bicycle. The mounting hardware should preferably not be permanently attached to the basket such that it extends beyond the outer boundaries of the basket. In this way, the hardware is less likely to be damaged during shipping.